Royal Society of Arts

Mindseye were invited by Matthew Lloyd Architects to provide a lighting scheme for the Royal Society of Arts, a Grade 1 listed building which was originally designed by Robert and John Adam in 1774.

Matthew Lloyd's vision was to produce a state of the art facility whilst remaining true to the original features, which prohibited the use of any recessed fittings. At the same time, Mindseye needed to meet the RSA’s requirements for the many different uses of the main function rooms, in particular the spectacular Great Room, which was required to house state of the art technology to relay events via real time links with Fellowes and audiences worldwide. Finding a way to meet the lighting and flexibility requirements for its many uses: presentations, seminars, weddings, exhibitions etc, whilst also keeping fittings as discreet as possible, was very challenging. Crucially, all four walls are clad in 18th century oil paintings which need to be kept below 150 lux to prevent degradation. The ground floor ‘lounges’ were kept very informal by using warm bespoke ceramic wall lights by Boatswain and minimal Precision Lighting Evo spotlights to illuminate artwork.

Bespoke chandeliers for the reception staircase and Benjamin Franklin room were chosen through a competition run by the RSA. These pendants were designed and produced by Troika and not only produce a beautiful light effect but also meet the requirements set out by Mindseye to allow them to provide functional light levels for the spaces they are in.

The Great Room utilises uplighting from the cornice and accent lighting from Precision Lighting LED spots, which were chosen for their minimal aesthetics. These were discreetly located on custom brackets mounted on the cornice and within slots in the existing ceiling lantern. RGB lighting was also introduced at low level to wash indirectly from the 8 bespoke speaker units around the room. The result is an extremely flexible lighting scheme allowing a full range of events to take place.